The trees on our sidewalks, in our parks, and in our yards are an incredible asset to our city. They beautify our neighborhoods, increase our home values, cleanse our air, and enhance the livability of our city.

But the way we regulate them isn't perfect - currently, the City's tree regulations are administered by no fewer than five City bureaus, each with a different mission, focus, and expertise. For several years, City staff and community members have worked on the Citywide Tree Policy Review and Regulatory Improvement Project. Their work resulted in a proposal to consolidate regulations from ten City titles into one and to make a variety of improvements to streamline, simplify, and improve accessibility for the public and staff.

On Wednesday, the Council took up the new proposal, discussed amendments to the package, and heard lots of public testimony. On April 6, they'll vote on the package and on the various amendments they discussed this week.

Once we have a final, approved package, we will figure out how to implement the changes in a cost-effective, consistent, and logical way. We're very excited to welcome Hannah Kuhn, formerly of the Fish Team, back to our team as Special Projects Manager to lead this effort.